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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
1. An act of Kindness and Goodwill1
篇一：《卖香蕉的老妇》
Just after finishing his work, Mr. Phillips remembered that his wife had asked him to buy one kilo of Bananas. On his way to the grocery shop, he saw an ill-looking old lady who was selling fresh bananas on the street. Usually, Mr. Phillips buys bananas from a grocery shop a few blocks away from his office, but since he was in a hurry to get home today, buying them from the old lady seemed more convenient to him.
下班后，菲利普先生想起来太太嘱咐过他买一公斤香蕉回家。在去杂货店的路上，他看见一位气色不太好的老妇人正在街上兜售新鲜香蕉。通常，菲利普先生都在离公司几个街区远的杂货店买香蕉，但今天他正好有些着急回家，直接在老妇人这里购买对他来说似乎更方便。
The old lady quoted $7 for one kilo of bananas. 'But the shop where I usually buy from gives them for $5 per kilo!', Mr Phillips said. 'I'm sorry sir, I cannot afford to match that price. I cannot sell them to you for less than $6 per kilo', the old lady responded. 'Never mind' said Mr Phillips, and he went to the grocery shop.
老妇人的香蕉要7块钱一公斤。“可是，我常去的店里才卖5元/公斤呢！”菲利普先生说道。“对不起先生，我没法便宜到那个价格，低于6块我都不能卖给您。”老妇人回答道。“没事”，菲利普先生说着，径直向杂货店走去。
However, when he wanted to pay for the good bunch of bananas he picked, the cashier told him that the price per kilo was $10. Feeling somewhat offended he said: 'I have been buying bananas here for several years now and this is a steep price increase, can't you offer me a better deal for being a loyal customer?'
然而，就在他已经挑好一捆新鲜的香蕉准备付款时，收银员告诉他，现在的价格是10元/公斤。菲利普先生莫名感到被冒犯了似的，说：“我是你们这家店的老顾客了，今天这价格也涨得太离谱了，难道你们就不能给我这个忠实的老顾客一个优惠的价格吗？”
Then, the manager of the grocery shop who had overheard2 him said: 'Sorry sir but our prices are fixed3, we do not bargain.' Mr. Phillips felt very annoyed with his attitude, and decided4 to put the bananas back and to go back to the old lady.
此时，杂货店经理无意听到了他们的对话，他解释道：“不好意思先生，我们的价格是固定的，我们这里不讲价。” 他的态度令菲利普先生十分不悦，于是决定不在这里买了，去街上的老妇人那里买。
She recognized him instantly and told him: 'Sir, I can't match that price, I won't be able to earn any profit if I sell my bananas for less than $6.' 'Don't worry, I will pay you $10 Per kilo!', said Mr Phillips. 'Now, give me two kilos please!' The Old lady happily packed two kilos of Bananas and said: 'I can't accept $10 per kilo but I will accept $7 per kilo. I appreciate your kindness.'
老妇人马上认出了他，说道：“先生，我不能卖那个价格，低于6块钱我都挣不了钱。”“别担心，我付你10块/公斤！”菲利普先生说道，“现在给我来两公斤吧！”老妇人高兴地挑了两公斤香蕉，并说道：“我不能按10块钱的价格卖给您，非常感谢您的善意，我坚持只卖7块钱。”
As she continued talking, tears were flowing from her eyes. 'You know, my Husband used to own a small fruit shop, but he got very sick. We even had to sell his shop to cover his medical bills because nobody could support us. Unfortunately, he still passed away. So now I am trying to survive on my own.'
她一边说着，泪水从她眼里滚落下来。“您不知道，我丈夫曾经经营过一个小水果店，现在他病重了，我们必须得卖掉小铺来负担他的医疗费用，没有人能帮得上我们。不幸的是，他还是过世了。于是现在，我得自食其力了。”
Don't worry, I will only buy bananas from you from now.' Mr Phillips replied. Then, he pulled out his wallet and gave her $100 extra. 'Take this, consider this an advance payment for the bananas I will be buying from you later.' He left the old lady speechless with gratitude5. He kept his promise, and also recommended many of his colleagues to buy bananas from the old lady, which they did. From that day on, she made a much better living than ever before.
“别担心，我以后都在你这里买香蕉。” 菲利普先生安慰她，接着，他拿出钱包，拿出100元递给她。“拿着这钱吧，这是我提前支付了以后在你这里买香蕉的钱。”之后，他就离开了。老妇人一句话也说不出来，充满了感激之情。从那以后，菲利普先生信守了他的承诺，也推荐了许多他的同事来老妇人这里买香蕉。从那以后，水果小摊的生意逐渐好了起来，老妇人的困窘的生活也逐渐改善了。
篇二：《卖冰棍的桑切斯先生》
An old man, the 89 year-old Mr Sanchez, had been retired7 just two months when his daughter passed away. This forced him out of retirement8 since he had to take custody9 of her children. He had been selling ice pops in Illinois city for 23 years up till then. His wife,who also used to sell the ice pops, could not help him because of her failing health.
89岁的老人桑切斯退休刚两个月，她的女儿就过世了。这场意外令老人不得不放弃安度晚年，只因女儿还留下了两个孩子需要抚养，老人成了她们的监护人。在这之前，他已经在伊利诺伊城卖了23年的冰棍。他的太太，虽然之前也卖过冰棍，但现在也帮不上忙了，因为她的身体状况也每况愈下。
'We thought, what are we going to do? We have to pay the bills', the vendor told the news. So Mr Sanchez decided to dust off his ice-cream cart to support his wife and grandchildren. 'I woke up early and worked all day until eight at night,' he said.
“那我们能做什么呢？我们还有那么多的日常账单要支付。” 推着冰棍车的老人告诉记者。于是桑切斯老人决定重拾旧业，继续卖冰棍来养家，家里有他的太太和孙子们。“我每天早出晚归，整天在外面忙碌。” 他说。
'It broke my heart seeing this man working so hard while he should be enjoying retirement,' said Joel Cervantes Macias, a man who has set up an online fundraise campaign for Mr Sanchez. 'When I saw Mr Sanchez, I bought 20 paletas (Mexican ice pops) from him. Later I posted a photo of Mr Sanchez online, with the comment: 'I respect this man to the fullest!' The image garnered10 a huge response.'
一位素不相识的陌生人Joel Cervantes Macias 先生在网络上发起了为桑切斯先生的筹款活动，他说，“看到这个老人在应当安度晚年的年纪还如此卖力地讨生活，令人心碎。”“我遇见他以后，我一口气买了20根冰激凌。然后我把桑切斯先生的照片发到了网络上，并写道：我真心敬佩这样的人。照片立即得到了许多人的回应。”
Mr Joel Cervantes Macias said that then, he decided to start a fundraising campaign in the hope of collecting $3,000 dollars (?2,250) for Mr Sanchez. That target was surpassed11 in less than an hour. Within two days, he had raised more than $201,000 for Mr Sanchez and his family. Mr Sanchez however, is still working as a paleta vendor because he said he would miss his work otherwise, but now he doesn't need to worry about money anymore, he is a happy man.
Macias先生说，后来他决定在网上筹款，目标是为桑切斯先生筹得3000美元（约2250英镑）。这个目标不到一小时就被超越了。两天之内，他已经筹到了201,000美元。而桑切斯先生，现在仍然推着他的冰棍车每日忙碌着，他说如果他歇下来他也会想念这份工作。但是他现在已经不再为钱而发愁了，他成为了一个快乐的老人。
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收听单词发音
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1
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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2
overheard
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| adj. 串音的, 偶而听到的 动词overhear的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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3
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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vendor
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| n.卖主；小贩 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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garnered
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| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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surpassed
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| v.超过( surpass的过去式和过去分词 )；优于；多于；非…所能办到 | |
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